METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMATING CARBON FOOTPRINTING
First Claim
1. A method for determining the carbon footprint of an item, said method comprising:
- obtaining data related to predetermined resources associated with an item from predetermined data sources;
calculating estimated emission factors for each of said resources; and
utilizing both data related to said resources and said estimated emission factors of said resources to determine a carbon footprint of said item.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for automating carbon footprinting are disclosed. In some embodiments, the methods include the following: obtaining data related to predetermined resources associated with an item from predetermined data sources; calculating estimated emission factors for each of the resources; determining a contributory uncertainty of the data and of the emission factors; guiding a user based on a comparison of the respective contributory uncertainty of data related to the resources or emission factors; and utilizing both data related to the resources and the estimated emission factors of the resources to determine a carbon footprint of the item.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for determining the carbon footprint of an item, said method comprising:
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obtaining data related to predetermined resources associated with an item from predetermined data sources; calculating estimated emission factors for each of said resources; and utilizing both data related to said resources and said estimated emission factors of said resources to determine a carbon footprint of said item. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for estimating an emission factor for a resource, said instructions comprising:
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categorizing a resource in a predetermined cluster of similar resources; obtaining an average estimated emission factor ( EF Cluster, i) for said cluster;obtaining an estimated price (Pricei) of said resource; and calculating said emission factor (EFi, estimated) for said resource according to the following
EFi,estimated=a+b·
ln(EF Cluster,1)+c·
ln(Pricei);wherein a, b, and c are calibrated/optimized coefficients. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A system for determining the carbon footprint of an item, said system comprising:
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a data automation module including means for obtaining data related to predetermined resources associated with an item from predetermined data sources; an emission factor estimator module including means for calculating estimated emission factors for each of said resources; and a calculation module including means for utilizing both data related to said resources and said estimated emission factors of said resources to determine a carbon footprint of said item. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification